That day, I was going through the documents Baretta had sorted in the study room.
What could I say, I was their leader so such clerical work was something I was obviously bound to do, though I am just waiting for the time to fling such duty or Baretta or someone else. — It would be nice to go out on another journey with Teto, I thought while pressing stamps on the documents.
— Thump, Thump, Thump.
"Thump-Thump... Just like my chest when patted... Why no boing-boing?"
The thumping sound that echoed as I pressed stamps on documents reminded me of my modest chest, making me feel a bit empty.
It would be nice if I succeeded in adult transformation magic soon so I could get rid of my childish appearance. My thoughts drifted once again as I continued to stamp the documents.
Well, as someone who had both and
— which I had gotten from skill orbs I created with — it didn't take long for me to get my work done. I guess a normal person would have needed more time to do that.
"And this is the final one..... I'm finally free. Come to think of it, Erneah-san is coming for an inspection today, huh?"
My work was usually done in the first half of the morning after breakfast, so the rest of the morning and afternoon would either be spent on my hobbies or just taking it easy and lounging around, though that wasn't the case for today. Ernea-san, the queen of the Eldar Forest Nation, was scheduled to visit today for an inspection.
The inspection was mainly the follow-up of the mythical beasts' matchmaking plan... or so was the official stance. But as someone who got to know her well, I'm 90 percent sure that the inspection was her scheme to escape her strict work life at the castle and take a breather.
She must be coming at any moment now. I was internally guessing her time of arrival while tidying up the verified documents when I heard a noise coming from the corridor. ——Hmm? Wondering what it might be, I turned my gaze to the door when it suddenly opened with a loud bang.
"Chise! As promised, this Queen is here for the forest inspection! Come on, you can guide us!"
"Disturbing people is no good-nanodesu! Majou-sama is in the middle of her work-nanodesu!"
"Erneah-sama! This isn't the castle! Please stop running around in someone's house acting as if you own the place!"
Stepping inside the study room after she opened the door with a bang was the High-Elf Queen Erneah-san.
Following her were Teto and the dark elf Altair-san, the aide of Erneah-san. Though they were mostly following her in an attempt to stop her from acting rowdy. After entering, Altair-san bowed her head to express her apology for her queen's act.
Further behind them were the Mechanoids from the maid corp, who appeared to be ashamed of not being able to stop Erneah-san.
"You don't need to be down, everyone. Erneah-san usually can't be stopped with force......"
"Indeed. We're here to enjoy sightseeing in the forest Chise has cultivated. Let's go, I'm leaving the role of our guide to you."
As expected of the High-Elf Queen who has been used to giving orders for a long time. I was about to comply with her fluent command, but—
"But Erneah-san, aren't you quite early today? I knew you'd be coming today but I would have preferred it if you had informed me through a communication magic tool."
"Come on, this will be my first official visit to the land with an abundance of world trees! I was so excited I woke up quite early!"
"You aren't a kid for goodness......"
I rebutted with a stern gaze, though she just continued to look at me with an amused look.
I guess she was just mentally young, despite being an Immortal and over 2000 years old. Or maybe she had stopped caring about the passing of hours and schedules.
"Well, I just finished my work as well so I guess it's fine. Let's go, Teto and I will guide you."
"Welcome to the forest that Majou-sama and Teto raised with hard work!”
Shortly after Teto and I left the mansion with Erneah-san and Altair-san, a Griffon appeared in the garden to meet us.
"Oh? This Griffon is here to welcome us, eh? This child looks like he was raised well! Come here, you cutie."
Raising a surprised voice, Erneah-san stretched her hand out and caressed the Griffon's nape, as if scratching it. The Griffon seemed to like this as well as it squinted its eyes in delight.
"This place might not be as big as the other nations but there is too much distance to cover on foot. So I asked for help from the flying mythical beasts."
"Teto will be riding on Majou-sama's wand!"
"Altair, come with me. You've been flying on your own for some time now so take it easy and ride with me today. Besides, you haven’t been on one of these for quite a while now, no?"
After saying that, Erneah-san eyed the Griffon with a sparkling gaze as it knelt to make it easier for them to get on, and sat on its back. Altair-san hesitatingly followed suit.
"Alright then, we're going. — !"
Announcing our leave to Baretta and the other who came to see us off, the wand on which Teto and I were straddling gently ascended to the sky with the Griffon, which had Erneah-san and Altair-san on its back, spreading its wings to follow after us.
"Hmm-hmm. Looking at the forest a lot more carefully, it really is still pretty young."
"Well, of course. It hasn't even been 100 years since its establishment."
"But it's the forest Majou-sama and Teto are proud of!"
The average age of the trees in the giant forest of the Eldar Forest Nation, which Erneah-san governed over, was several hundred years old with most of the land being occupied with shade trees that prevented the sunlight from reaching the ground.
In contrast, the forest we visited was still young with sunlit, thriving trees dominating the landscape.
Particularly, the forest managed by me, Teto, and her familiars, the Earthnoids and Clay Golems, resembled a lush hillside. It was a place to harvest wild fruits, mountain vegetables, and mushrooms.
Next, we went around the Marshland, and since it was a place difficult to enter due to inadequate footing, we used the boardwalk to cross the path and admired the medicinal herbs and other flowers and plants that were native only to this type of environment.
Like this, we continued to visit different types of habitats for mythical beasts. A glance at Erneah-san showed that she also seemed to be having a great time.
We occasionally chanced upon some of the mythical beasts like small-sized Cat Siths, Cu Siths, Ratatoskrs, Carbuncles, and Almirajs. We also met the ones that actively interacted with people to help them out in labor and handing in items they produced like the Gaurens, Heiðrúns, Arieses, and Unicorns.
Some like the Fenrirs, Griffons, Pegasuses, and giant Acquilas remained aloof from human connection and were strong enough to frequent between here and the monster-infested region to hunt down monsters.
Last, but not the least, we also met mythical beasts specialized in looking out for their home in the easy-to-live region.
"The forest and the mythical beasts all look fine and dandy. The mana density also seems to be increasing year after year. There shouldn't be any problems for mythical beasts to mate here."
"We use high-ranking monsters to defend the forest so there is very little safe place for the mythical beasts in our Great Forest."
After completing the inspection, Erneah-san and Altair-san spoke in admiration.
"How is it, are you satisfied?"
"It's splendid! This is just perfect for the exchange! Next, we'll delegate the task to those familiar with the demonic races, and from there, we can start with the actual cultural exchange!"
From our side, we'd choose individuals from the maid corps of Baretta and the residents of the to be in charge of this. The plan was to set up a and deepen the cultural ties of the two territories. Then, we'd progress with the main task— introducing the mythical beasts to each other for mating.
As for the other side, Erneah-san would most likely select someone from the Southern Sanfield Empire to be in charge of this project as that empire located south of the Great Forest of the Elves was a multi-racial nation where even demonic races lived.
"It was an amazing tour, though it seems like we're a bit behind for our lunch."
"Yeah, Teto's stomach is rumbling as well~"
Erneah-san said as she looked at the sun that had passed its zenith. The time was just a bit after noon.
At the mention of lunch, Teto's stomach rumbled, announcing that it needed attention.
"I didn't bring any lunch with us since the tea and snacks from here are delicious. I'm looking forward to what we'll have for today, Chise. Especially curry, that was superb. I also want rice next."
"Erneah-sama, please mind your manners!"
Altair-san chided Erneah-san who, without reservation, demanded rice dishes, though the latter smoothly ignored it with a laugh.
"Hmm. Lunch, huh?...... What would satisfy you?"
"Let's think about it when we get home!"
It would have taken time to fly back, so I thanked the Griffon that carried Erneah-san and Altair-san and returned to the mansion with .
In the kitchen of the mansion, I started preparing dishes for lunch.
"Hmm, we do have rice in the storage facility but preparing them would take quite a lot of time."
The storage facility was like a refrigerator but different since it preserved food by freezing time inside. So we had lots of dishes made in large quantities in big pots like curry stored inside.
"Ah, this might work......"
"Oh, it's also Teto’s favorite!"
I took out the dishes I selected from the storage facility and immediately started preparing the meal.
First, I put butter in a frying pan and heated it, then added grated garlic. After sautéing the garlic in butter until it became fragrant, I added white rice and continued to stir-fry it. I sprinkled some salt, pepper, and dried parsley for color, creating buttered rice.
Meanwhile, in another frying pan, I made a half-cooked omelet with milk and pepper. I placed the omelet on top of the buttered rice and served it with a side of salad and soup to Ernea-san and Altair-san.
"I've been smelling the appetizing aroma of garlic and butter for a while now, but is this Chise's cooking? It's just rice with an omelet on top..."
Erneah-san looked disappointed, and Altia-san too seemed puzzled as she alternatively looked at me and the half-cooked omelet-served rice.
"This is a dish that's meant to be visually appealing so it's not complete yet. When you cut into this half-cooked omelet with a knife—"
As I cut into the omelet on top of the buttered rice with a knife, it transformed into a fluffy and creamy omurice.
Both of them looked at the gradual transformation of the dish with surprised faces. On the other hand, Teto had already grabbed the spoon and looked eager to start at any moment.
"Is this complete now, Chise!?"
"Just a bit more. Now I just have to add hashed beef on top, sprinkle some fresh cream, and dry parsley— and it's complete now. Enjoy the 'Omelet and Hashed Beef Rice'."
Erneah-san's eyes gleamed as she saw the dish gradually change into its final form, and once the omelet and hashed beef rice were completed, she immediately made a quick prayer and began eating.
"Hmm!? This is quite a discovery! Beef stew or hashed beef on its own isn't particularly rare, but when combined with omelet and rice like this— it's incredibly delicious!"
Erneah-san enthusiastically enjoyed her meal by dipping the omelet and buttered rice into the hashed beef sauce. Altia-san, too, widened her eyes upon taking her first bite and then quietly savored the dish.
And the last one—
"Majou-sama, Teto wants another serving-nanodesu!
"Alright, but that was all the butter rice so next would be just plain hayashi rice, is it okay?"
"Perfectly fine-nanodesu!"
For her second helping, Tetto had the regular Hayashi Rice, and she even finished her dessert.
"Chise, this was a delicious meal. Also, I have a personal favor to ask."
Resting for a short while after having lunch, Erneah-san said this when it was time for her to leave for the Eldar Forest Nation with Altair-san.
"Personal favor?"
"You know that, the thing you gifted us? I want a bit of that liquor if you can."
"Erneah-sama!"
Altair-san raised her voice in anger when Erneah-san made her selfish request. I just chuckled, after all, that was how she always acted— on a whim.
"—! Fine wine!"
With a wry smile, I produced several bottles of wine with .
This time, I didn't create aged wines like before. I instead made a variety of wines with moderate aging and a wide range of flavors. There were red, white, and light rosé wines, various fruit liqueurs, distilled spirits like whiskey and brandy, and even pure Daiginjo sake, which was Erneah-san's favorite.
"Woahh! The extraordinary liquors of another world, gre— <here, altair-san.="" you="" can="" handle="" them.="">"</here,>
I stopped Erneah-san who was just about to reach out for the bottles and handed all of them to Altair-san.
"Feel free to use them as a reward for Erneah-san."
"Chise-sama...... you have my eternal gratitude. With this, I'll be able to motivate Erneah-sama to work diligently for the government!"
Seeing Altair-san's lively expression as she took the alcohol for safekeeping, Erneah-san seemed taken aback.
"Majou-sama~, Teto also wants to try them."
"Sure, I'll create a few more, you can drink them whenever you want."
"Just why! Why such strictness with me, but so lenient on Teto?! I also want to be pampered too!"
"Erneah-sama, you are a splendid queen and an adult. You should stop acting immature with Chise-sama."
Erneah-san seemed indignant as she threw a selfish fit, though Altair-san ignored it altogether and dragged her back to the Eldar Forest Kingdom. We watched them leave and waved goodbye to them while thinking that perhaps Erneah-san's casual and comfortable attitude with me was a reaction to her lack of restraint as an immortal and the responsibilities she had to handle until now.
Editor's note - out of all that happened in this chapter, the comment on the storage facility was the one that triggered me. *Pulls out piping hot tea from storage* "Ah, yes. Works just like my refrigerator at home." ?
